Rest structure with adjustable back



May 6, 1952 M. GLlcK ETAL REST STRUCTURE WITH ADJUSTABLE BACK 2SHEETS-Sl-IEET l Filed Sept. 2, 1949 M w l. 0 www wf VUM @NUM .dan mw yB May 6, 1952 M. GLlcK Erm.

REST STRUCTURE WITH ADJUSTABLE BACK 2 Sl-IEETS-Sl-IEET 2 Filed Sept. 2,1949 f m M MW w 4M MM NK .m4 um hmm Patented May 6, 1952 ltlaurceAGlick, Brooklyn, and Norman lIichoIaS',V

' Binghamton, N. Y.

Application september 2, iaiaserieme. 113,712 aA claims. (c1. s-163')ThisY invention relates to chair, bed, couch or similar seat or reststructures with an adjustable back." and concerns more particularly themechanismforoperating theback to and from adjusted positions;

It is an object of the present invention to provide a chair orsimilar'structure of the aforesaid type having a back wherein theadjustment of said back can be effected from a location of one of thearms of the chair and wherein said back will be held in adjustedposition until forcedly and automatically returned toV an elevated oryend position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanismcapable of adjusting the back of the chair in any desired position:relatively to the seat of the chair without the need of. a raclr bar Vorother complicated devices-which generally permit only a limited numberof positions for adjusting the backof. the chair or the It is anotherobject of the present invention tovprovide means affording an effectiveand reliable construction of a mechanism for moving the baclrA of thechair to adjusted position, for retaining the back in saidadjustedposition, and finally for returning said. back. to initial or any otheradjusted position.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a chair, couch,bed` or the like, with. an adjustable back, which is of simpleconstruction, has a minimum number of operable parts, is inexpensive tomanufacture, easy to operate, may readily bebuilt in the sides of thestructure, requires only little space for accommodation within Fig. 6 isa fragmentary perspectiveview' offl a i part of the spreading deviceforming` part ofi mechanism of Fig. 3I and.A shown in a.. diferen-tposition than that seen in 3 Referring now to the drawings, there is.dis'- closed an armchair A having. rearward and upwardly extendingspaced supporting. members l0,

. I i. These" members may be curved at thei'rupper the sides of thechair or structure, is convenient A to use andeicient in operation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention,reference may now be had tothe. following detailed description taken inconnection: with the accompanying. drawings. in which:

Fig. lis a side-elevational view of an arm chair with upholstered sideportion thereof removed to expose the frame and. to illustrate thevmechanism embodying the invention.

Fig 2. is a Aside-elevational view of the opposite side of the chairotFig. 1.

liig.A 3 isA an enlarged perspective View of the mechanism-V embodyingthe invention` and. shapedfor. application. to a chair.

Fig.` 4 is an enlarged frarmentary and sectional View of the mechanism,taken along line Il ll of F''. 3';

Fife 5 is a sectionalv view takenalong line 55 o-fl Fig. 4;, andV endsand are providedV with notches |21 in" the' rear edges of said members.For'wardl'y from these supporting members IEI, il extend, respectively,side frame members. i3 and i4 which tei:- minate, respectively, at armsupports l5, and` f6 which extend to horizontal ariilresting portions I1and I8. A` cushion |79 forms the seatofl the chair and. may extendforwardly beyond the arm supports l5 and i6. A forward upholsteredstructure 2i is provided to support the cushion seat I9. Therear ends ofthe arm rest portions i1 and I 8 are connected to the'upper parts o thecurved supporting members IB and Between the supporting members t and'il, there is positioned and swingably supported'y a' adjustable back 22.This adjustable. back carl be constructed in the ordinary manner and"is' cushioned to provide comfort for the person rclining in the chair.

To opposed sides of the back 2'2- there are, re'- spectively, connectedrangle arm members 23. and 24. The angle arm-member. 23 is connected by apivot pin 25 to an upright bar 2'6 rigidly fi'rexi to the verticalsupport lo and extending. across the end of notchv i2 thereof.f i

This bar or plate 26 is xed to the supportA I'U by any suitable means,such as screws 21'. Plate 2S has an offsetmedian portion 28lprovidingstops ZSvand 3i for limiting the upward and downward movements of theback 22 and determining' the' extreme positions of the latten. TheangleV armi` 23 is pivoted onV pin 25' passing throughoi'set porition-23. The side edgesof angle arml 2`3 will abut against the stops 29 and3i as the back'fis' rai-sed' or lowered to end positions. Thearm. Z3isdnwardlv offset at 23aso as to extendilaterallyand inwardly throughthe notch l2y forlengageinent with and fixation to the side frame ofiAthe back.2"2.

`On` the opposite side frame of back- 22;;t'hereis a similar swingingmechanismV attached which, however, is devoidof. any adjusting rdeviceand more. or lessserves to guide back 22 during; its' nlovements and tovaiorda' stabilization` of' theV back structure.

Angle arm 24 is connectedto said opposite 1side frame of the back 22 andis pivoted" at 35. to vertically extending plate 33 having the medianoiset portion 34. Thefforwardly extending dnd of the arm 24 carries atension spring 66 which acts upon the arm 24 to urge back 22 to itselevated or one of its extreme positions. The other end of the tensionspring 36 is anchored on a bracket 31 fixed to the base of the chair A.A similar tension spring 38 is connected to the angle arm 23 asindicated at 39 (Fig. 1) and acts upon the back 22 in conjunction withthe tension spring 36 to automatically urge the back 22 to elevatedposition as soon as the mechanism is released, to which reference ismade further below. Tension spring 38 is anchored on a bracket 4Ilocated at the base of the chair A.

Connected to the support l and to the side frame member I3 is ahorizontally extending strap 42 to which is connected by means ofa pivotpin 43, a U-shaped member 44, having vertically spaced horizontallyextending flap or flange portions 45 and 46 with openings thereinthrough which4 extend a round rod 41. This round rod is'pivotallyconnected at 46 throug the forward end of the angle arm 23. f

spaced inwardly from the horizontally extendi'rig portions 45 and 46 ofthe U-shaped member 44 are respectively openings 5I and 52 adapted torespectively accommodate tongue portions 53 and 54 of edge grippingelements 55 and 56. These edge gripping elements are respectivelyprovided with openings for receiving the rod 41, and these openings areof larger diameter than the diameter of the rod 41 so as to permit theangular movement of the gripping elements in order that the edges of theopenings can respectively engage the sides of the rod to grip the rodand prevent the movement of the rod through the gripping elements andthe U-shaped member 44 whereby to retain the back 22 in its adjustedpositionj. The gripping elements 55 and 56 are respectively urged intoedge gripping engagement with the rod 41 by springs 51 and 58 reactingrespectively against the horizontally extending portions 45 and 460i theU-shaped member 44. The openings in the gripping elements 55 and 56 areindicated, respectively, at 59. The rod 41 has a cotter pin at its freeend as indicated at 6l to prevent the disengagement of the rod 41 fromthe U-shaped member 44.

Ihe'gripping elements 55 and 56 are spread against the action of theirsprings by horizontally extending spreading lever members 62 and 63,having inwardly bent ends engaging with the freeends of the grippingelements. These spreading elements 62 and 63 are pivoted to each otherand to an outwardly offset end 64 of the strap 42 by a pivot pin 65. Avertically extending strap 66 is connected to the horizontally extendingstrap 42 adjacent the offset end 64 thereof by a pin 61 and will serveto support that end of the strap 42. The lower end of the verticalsupport strap 66 is connected by a pin 68 to the base of the chair.

The forward end of the spreading member 63 is bent as indicated at 69and receives the plate 1|, which is pivotally connected by a pin 'i2 tothe forward end of the spreading member 62. The plate 1i has a notch 13for receiving the bent portion 69 of the spreading member 63. The plate1I can accordingly be pivoted on the end of the spreading member 63 tocause the separation of the ends of the spreading members 62 and 63 andthe release of the gripping elements 55 and 56 upon the rod 41. Thisaction is eiected when the plate 1I assumes the position shown in Fig.6.

The plate 1l is worked by a rod 14 connected at its lower end to theplate 1| and at its upper end the rod 14 is connected to a bell crank 15pivoted as indicated at 16 upon a bracket 11. This bracket has anoperating -rod 18 slidable therethrough with a knob 19 thereon. This rodis connected to the bell crank lever and when depressed, the spreadingelements are pivoted by the working of the plate 1I and the rod 41 isreleased to free the back 22 of the chair.

.In operation it will be seen that the back 22 when released can beadjusted .in a rearwardly extended position by 'pushing backwardly uponthe button or knob 1 9 being depressed to release the gripping elementsand 56. As soon as the desired position of the back has vbeen obtained,the button is released and the rod 41 is gripped to hold the back in theexact position to which it has been adjusted. The back can be adjustedto a horizontalposition if desired, as shown in Fig. l., or it can beheld rigid at any location between the raisedposition and the horizontalposition. The rod 41 can be gripped at any loca.- tion upon thesame, andaccordingly there are any number of positions to which the back can 'beset. The device does not depend upon rack teeth, so that the number ofpositions to whichthe back can be adjusted are unlimited. Accordingly,there has been provided a retaining mechanism for a chair back which isnot dependent upon rack teeth.

While various changes may be made in the detailed construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as dened by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: y l. In a chair. or similar article; a substantiallyvertical supporting structure, a seat portion supported upon saidsupporting structure, a back adjustably connected to said supportingstructure in rear of the seat portion, arms connected to the oppositesides of the back, means for pivotally connecting said arms to saidsupporting structure, spring means connected to said arms urging theback to its elevated position, a slide rod extending from one of saidarms and being pivotally connected thereto, means for gripping said rodto retain the back in its adjusted position, and means accessible to theuser of the chair for releasing said gripping means, said gripping meansincluding elements adapted to be spread apart to release the rod, saidmeans for releasing said gripping means comprising spread elementspivotally connected to each other and to said supporting structure, aplate 4pivotally connected between the outer ends of said spreadelements to separate the same, and a hand operating device connected tothe plate to eiect its actuation whereby said spread elements will bespread'from one another and the grip elements will be released from therod.

2. In a chair or similar article; a supporting structure including aseat portion thereon, a swingable back adjustably connected to saidsupporting structure to assume elevated and obliquely adjustedpositions, respectively, arms connected to the opposite sides of theback, means pivotally connecting said arms to said supporting structure,spring means connected to said arms urging the back to its elevatedposition, a slide rod extending from one of said arms and pivotallyconnected thereto, means for gripping said rod to retain the back in itsadjusted position, releasable means accessible to the user of the chairfor operating said gripping means, said gripping means comprising aU-shaped member having ange portions with openings in alignment witheach other, said rod being slidable through said openings of said flangeportions, gripping elements having respective openings normallypermitting passage of said rod therethrough and, respectively, movablewith respect to said U-shaped member, springs about the rod normallyurging said gripping elements at their openings into engagement with therod, said releasable means for the gripping means including spreadelements pivotally connected to said supporting structure and to oneanother and having inwardly bent ends engaging with the free ends of thegripping elements, one of the spread elements being longer than theother, an operating member connected between the operating ends of thespreading elements to effect the separation of one another, and a handoperated device including a rod connected to said operating member toactuate the same, said hand operating device being secured to saidsupporting structure.

3. In a chair frame and like piece of furniture having a swingable back;means connected to said lback, said means including an arm .pivotallysupported on said chair frame, a rod element operatively connected tosaid arm, a substantially U-shaped member having flange portionsprovided with openings, two gripping elements movably arranged on saidU-shaped member and provided with openings dened by edges, said openingsof said flange portions and said openings of said gripping elementsbeing registrable With one another and being shaped for the passage ofsaid rod element therethrough, spring means surrounding said rod elementat locations between said flange portions and said gripping elements andnormally urging the latter against each other and to thereby provideedge-gripping engagement with said rod element, spreading, lever meansdisposed to extend between said gripping elements and to spread thelatter apart for achieving registry of said openings of said angeportions and of said openings of said gripping elements whereby said rodelement may pass therethrough for adjusting purposes, and push buttonmeans remote from said U-shaped member and linked to said lever means tothereby operate said gripping elements against said spring means and inrelation to said rod for adjusting said back.

MAURICE GLICK.

NORMAN NICHOLAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,903,253 Austin Mar. 28, 19332,016,119 Owler Oct. 1, 1935 2,273,423 Bank Feb. 17, 1942 2,341,465Monnet Feb. 8, 1944 2,443,400 Reinhold June 15, 1948 2,529,309 EverestAug. 29, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 15,460 Denmark Jan. 8,1912 321,790 Great Britain Nov. 21, 1925 431,084 Great Britain July 1,1935

